


The Blue Pills

by bgrimmpitch



Category: Carry On Series - Rainbow Rowell
Genre: M/M, Magic, Oblivious Simon Snow, Pills, Post-Watford (Simon Snow), Simon Snow's Wings and Tail, Tyrannus Basilton "Baz" Pitch Is Gay for Simon Snow, Vampires
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-15
Updated: 2018-11-15
Packaged: 2019-08-24 03:55:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,583
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16632446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bgrimmpitch/pseuds/bgrimmpitch
Summary: Penelope discovers a 'medicine' to make Simon's pair of wings and tail disappear, but is that what he really wants? Having to decide between turning into a human or sticking to his new but still magical self, Simon Snow struggles to know who he really is.





	The Blue Pills

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this just for fun, but I hope you like it. I apologize if there are any mistakes :3

Simon and Baz stared at Penelope suspiciously. That December morning, she had walked into their house without warning, carrying a transparent box with two blue pills, who were broken in four and separated by a small compartment. When she sat down, the teenager smiled, her eyes shining maliciously behind the mask of innocence.

"You can trust me, it's not a drug or anything like that." She started. "I was thinking of a way to get Simon's body back to normal and Trixie found my notes as we packed our things out of the dormitory. And you know how annoying she can be, always meddling into other people's affairs. Last week she even brought her girlfriend over and..."

"Just do whatever you came here to do and go, Bunce." Baz complained, rolling his eyes.

She sighed. "What I mean is that she suggested creating a spell strong enough to undo the Chosen's magic, which would obviously be theoretically impossible. But after some research on the matter, I discovered there are still traces of the holes in the magical atmosphere left by the Humdrum."

Simon inclined his head slightly to the left, not understanding where Penelope was trying to go with such logic, and Baz pressed his lips, wondering how the fate of the magic world could've wound up in the hands of an idiot like him. Then, he realized that dating Simon Snow also made him kind of an idiot.

"How dumb can you be, Snow? She used those traces to create a toxin as powerful as your magic was, to annul it." He explained. "It's exactly as they say: you will taste your own medicine."

"Basically," She simplified, seeing how his confusion didn't go away. "These pills can make your wings and tail disappear permanently."

"Is... Is it really possible?" He asked, excited. 

Penelope nodded. "Probably."

"You don't seem very sure." Simon frowned. "And why are the two pills split in half?"

"I haven't tested them on humans yet." She confessed, avoinding his eyes for a second. "And the guinea pigs I used exploded when it entered their system, so I decided to split it up. The idea is for the two of you to take it."

"Why both of us?" He questioned, frowning for the second time since she knocked on the door. 

"And why the heck do we have to be your lab rats?" Baz complained once again. 

Penelope clenched her hands nervously.

"Well, it turns out that when Simon got rid of the Humdrum, it created a chain of reactions, and the holes began to disappear at a frightening rate. Most of my samples have evaporated and these are the only ones left. They last for about twenty-four hours, so you just have this one opportunity." She said. "As for your question, Simon, the truth is that the ideal dosage changes from person to person, depending on their body type and its development. I recently noticed the holes' magic molds to the person who absorbs them. However, it would be dangerous if you absorbed it alone, since the magic — your magic — is especially attracted to you. Just because you lost it, that doesn't it was never there. It still recognizes you."

"Let me see if I get it." The vampire interrupted before she could continue. "You're going use me to filter the magic."

"I mean, yes. No one could handle Simon's magic when he gave it to them. No one but you." She pointed out. "If Baz lets the pills dissolve in his mouth first..."

"I can kiss Simon and make him take just the right amount, without me being harmed by it since I'm practically immune. Right?"

"Yeah." She shook her head in agreement.

"Wait... Wait a minute." Simon blushed. "Why does it have to be a kiss?!"

"It's preferred for the toxin to be transferred through fluids to facilitate the distribution. Is this or..."

"I got it, I got it! You don't need to say anything more, I'm okay with the kiss!" He exclaimed, embarrassed, and Baz smirked.

Penelope opened up the little box. "So what do you say, wanna try it out?"

"The decision's yours, Snow."

Simon thought it over for a few moments. For a long, long, time, more time than he could tell, he felt alone in the world. He never had a place where he belonged and Watford was the closest he had to a home. An even there, he was known as a strange person. Fed up with the pressure of having to save the magical world of the Humdrum — and being the only one capable of doing it — he convinced himself he was special. That he was the "Chosen One". If he put that mask on, maybe the others would find him to be a necessary presence in their lives.

But in the end, contrarily to what everyone thought, the enemy he tried so hard to defeat was none other than himself. The one destined to save the world was, in the same way, destined to destroy it. Simon didn't regret saving the world, of course not, but he still felt bad for losing his powers. Without them he was just another normal person, someone without the ability to practice witchcraft or enter through the gates that provided him a place of his own for so many years. Gates that only authorized the entrance of those with magical abilities.

It was almost like as if his home had been taken away from him. As if, suddenly, a great distance separated him from Penny, Agatha, Ebb, Baz and everyone he met as a student there. As if, out of nowhere, the things he took for granted escaped from his fingers.

And he knew: it wasn't a dream come true having those wings and tail. He relied on Baz to hide them with a spell and had to be careful so the humans wouldn't notice. However, to have them as a part of his body meant that a portion of him was still special, that he still belonged to the world both Penny and Baz shared and that, sometimes, seemed completely out of reach. With them, he could pretend nothing had changed. But what if they disappeared? Would that make him less than he already was?

He bit his own cheek. Who exactly was Simon Snow? The Chosen One? The Humdrum? An abnormal creature with a pair wings and a tail? He made a pained expression and reality finally hit him. He wasn't the Chosen One. He wasn't the Humdrum. And he wasn't an abnormal creature with a pair of wings and a tail either. 

He was an idiot who fell in love with the vampire who tried to kill him several times. He was Penelope Bunce's best friend. He was a graduate student at Watford. He was just a teenager who had no ideia of what was happening most of the time. Who cared if he had magic or not? Who cared if he went around waving a wand through the air, or fighting dragons or causing holes in the atmosphere?

What mattered were his ties to the ones who surrounded him, the relationships he maintained with those who were important to him. The most meaningful thing wasn't how powerful he was, but that he was Simon Snow. Because Simon Snow was the only thing he had to be.

"I'm sorry, Pen. I'll have to refuse your offer." He decided. "I think I'm alright with who I am right now." 

He spent almost half an hour reflecting about it, and they both stared at him, as if searching for the slightest bit of doubt. When they made sure this was his final answer, they relaxed. Penelope collapsed onto her chair with a relieved sign and Baz scoffed, even though he was quite glad on the inside.

"And there goes my perfect chance of bragging in front of Bunce, to show her how her best friend is living his best life." Sighed the vampire, falsely exasperated.

"He's not living his best life for dating you, Grimm-Pitch. He could've found someone so much better." She responded, playfully.

"Aleister Crowley! I'm his boyfriend, Bunce. Me, Tyrannus Basilton Grimm-Pitch. I'm the best that will ever happen in his life."

Simon blinked, visibly confused, not even paying attention to their conversation. "Why are you so relieved?"

Baz rested his pale face on his right hand in annoyance, and Penelope smiled guiltily.

"If, hypothetically speaking, I told you this was all planned and there was no 'toxin' capable of nullifying your magic..."

"You deceived me." He interrupted, speechless, completely taken aback.

"All rights reserved to me, thank you very much." Baz boasted. "Bunce only took care of the scientific details to give credibility."

"But why?" He asked, still surprised.

"I thought it was obvious!" She exclaimed. "We were worried. You always cared about your magic and then it was gone. We had to make sure you weren't trapped in some stupid thought that magic, and only magic, defined you as a person."

"And also, we made a bet." Baz laughed. "If you refused Bunce would win, and I'd take a picture with one of the numpties. If you agreed, she had to watch us while we kissed and keep herself from vomiting." 

"I said I won't take the pill." Simon said. "Does it mean you're taking the selfie?"

"Unfortunately for you, no one should trust a vampire." He smiled wickedly and, grabbing Simon by the cheeks, kissed him intensely.


End file.
